US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) with Moroccan Foreign Minister Taib Fassi Fihri before their bilateral meeting Marrakesh, 02 November 2009
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says there will be no changes to an international offer to end the dispute over Iran's nuclear program by having its low-grade uranium processed and enriched abroad. That proposal is still being considered by the government in Tehran.
Secretary of State Clinton says it is time for Iran to accept the U.N-backed nuclear fuel deal. "This is a pivotal moment for Iran. Acceptance fully of this proposal which we have put forth and which we are unified behind would be a good indication that Iran does not wish to be isolated and does wish to cooperate with the international community and fulfill their international responsibilities," she said.
While the International Atomic Energy Agency remains in contact with Iran to answer its questions about the agreement, Clinton says the United States, Russia, France, China, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union will not accept any modifications to its terms.
"We urge Iran to accept the agreement as proposed. Because we are not altering it. It is the proposal that they agreed to in principal, so that we can move forward and work with Iran on a full range of issues including, but not limited to, their nuclear program," she said.
Clinton spoke to reporters in Morocco where she is meeting with Arab, North African and G8 foreign ministers.
Iran says it wants to hold more talks on the plan drafted two weeks ago and wants the IAEA to establish a technical commission to evaluate the proposal to send most of its low-enriched uranium to Russia.
After processing, the deal stipulates that the uranium would be returned to Iran for use as fuel in a research reactor. Exporting most of its enriched uranium would limit Iran's ability to make the core of a nuclear warhead.
